American Idol season 23 finale aired on May 18, 2025, and crowned a winner in Jamal Roberts. However, John Foster, who was the second in line, has gained immense popularity through his Idol journey, with almost half of America rooting for his win.
The three-hour finale on Sunday revealed the winner after loads of performances. The Top 14 were invited back on stage to deliver a performance, along with the judges, also using the American Idol stage to give a personal concert to everyone present.
Taking to Instagram, the 18-year-old Addis native thanked everyone who has supported him and been a part of his life. The country singer was much appreciated for his voice, with many fans commenting how, even though he is just starting out, he sounds like a man with an experience 30 years of.
Expressing his gratitude, John Foster wrote,
“Man, what a true blessing to share this Idol stage with so many incredible heroes, both new faces and legends. I’m beyond thankful, and I can’t wait to keep making music for y’all as long as the good Lord lets me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart – times a million. 🙏❤️”
American Idol Season 23 finale – John Foster’s performance
The first round of the finale marked John performing “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue.” Jelly Rollz, who was the mentor in that episode, wanted John to do something extraordinary and cater to the large audience that he had accumulated till now and give them “a bang.”
After the same, when asked about what he thinks about winning the show, the kid humbly replied,
“It’s all going to come down to what America wants to be the next American Idol, what they think the next American Idol is.”
During the second round, his rendition of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” awed the judges as the audience was clapping along to the beats.
During the second hour, Breanna was eliminated, and John and Jamal moved to the next round.
When the final moments rolled out during Round 3, John decided to perform his own classic called “Tell That Angel I Love Her.” He had written this track for his friend Maggie Dunn, who had passed away in a car accident.
With just 15 minutes left for the winner to be announced, John channeled all his love and pain into the performance, and it was visible to the judges. Jamal Roberts also decided to perform his own song called “Heal,” which he sang for the first time on TV. The song represents a prayer.
By the end of the night, the two had a very close competition. America started voting, and soon, the lights went off. Host Ryan Seacrest announced that Jamal Roberts was the winner. John congratulated his fellow contestant.
‘American Idol’ Fans Convinced John Foster Saw Winner Reveal in Ryan Seacrest’s Envelope
Jamal Roberts and John Foster were the final two on Season 23 of American Idol, with the winner announced during the live Sunday, May 18, finale. Ryan Seacrest was standing next to the final two contestant on stage as he announced the results of the nationwide vote.
John was directly next to Seacrest, while Jamal was on the other side of John. As always, the longtime host took a dramatic pause before saying the name of the winner, but he opened the envelope shortly before making the announcement. John seemingly had a disappointed look on his face before the winner was revealed, leading fans to speculate that he saw what was written in the envelope first.
“John foster fully just saw the American idol results 4 seconds before seacrest announced it. He very clearly looked at the card,” one viewer wrote on X. Someone else said, “It looked like John Foster seen the envelope!” and another agreed, adding, “#AmericanIdol John Foster saw the results in Ryan’s hands. @RyanSeacrest. Yikes.”
Another commenter offered some advice to Seacrest for the future, writing, “Ryan needs to be facing the contestants rather than next to them when announcing results. john foster saw jamal’s name before it was announced.”
John received a ton of support online, with fans raving that he’ll still have a big career, despite coming in second place on the show. “Congratulations to John Foster! We think you’re a great American and we love your music. I’m sure his career is about to take off,” someone said, while another added, “So proud of John Foster even though he didnt win Definitely made Addis, Louisiana and all of West Baton Rouge proud!”
